


Rekindle the Fire

by orphan_account



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Model/Actor!Jun, Rekindling Relationship, Suble Homophobia, Writer!Joshua
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 15:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14023680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Years after Joshua and Jun put their relationship on hold, Jun reaches out to Joshua, leading to an unexpected turn of events.





	Rekindle the Fire

     Joshua squinted and reread the sender's name, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

_From: Wen Junhui_

     He wasn't apparently.

_Hey I know we haven't spoken in years, but I happened to come across your socials and it sent me on a trip down memory lane. I'll be visiting LA the 16th and I was wondering if you wanted to catch up?_

     He gripped his phone tighter, scanning over the email thrice more. His finger hovered over the reply button, before he opened a new tab and searched for Jun's instagram.

     Sure enough it was the first to pop up in the feed.

     So he had moved back to China after his exchange program it seemed, living it up as an actor and a model. Guess he found his degree in accounting useless after all. And gosh...his posts were aesthetic. It made Joshua wistfully remember a conversation they had. Jun had actually wanted to study photography, but his parents thought the arts didn't provide a stable enough career. Typical Asian parents.

     He flipped back to the email and hit reply, willing his mind out of buried memories.

_I'd love to meet up. Here's my number so we can arrange a date and a time. I'm free the Saturday after you arrive any time after noon._

     He hit send and stared blankly at the screen as it processed his letter. Somewhere deep down his mind replayed the last time he saw Jun, standing in the airport. What had he said? He didn't even remember. Something about them being young and hoping all his dreams would come true. He was terribly cliché then. At least maturity had given him a modicum of eloquence.

     A boxed message popped up declaring the mail was successfully sent. He smiled to himself before putting the whole ordeal out of his mind and resuming his work. These edits weren't going to write themselves. Freelancing sucked.

* * *

     Unfortunately it being high summer, the weather was both too hot and too humid. Joshua was beginning to question why he had bothered wearing a jacket as it was starting to stick to his back. Quickly he shrugged it off and draped it over his arm, lest he greet a friend he hadn't seen in years with sweat stains on his shirt.

     He shifted his weight uncomfortably and glanced at his watch. The other was only running a minute or two late, yet it felt like he was late by ten hours.

 _You're just being impatient_ , he reminded himself.

     “Heyo, hope I haven’t been keeping you waiting,” a familiar voice approached from behind him. Jun rounded to his front, also amusingly dressed in a jacket far too warm for the weather.

     Joshua had to catch himself from choking. He must have come directly from a shoot as his eyes we heavily done up with makeup and his hair dyed a funny shade of violet. It was a stark contrast with his plain t-shirt and skinny jeans.

     “Nope, I just got here,” he finally managed, “You look like you've been well Junnie. Just got back from a gig or something?”

     “Yeah, I got a contract for this men's line in China, and the first thing they asked me was ' _are you okay with purple hair?_ ' and I was like ' _sure, why not?_ '. Now I see why they gladly hired me,” he sighed as they fell into step.

     “Aw, but you pull it off,” Joshua lightly elbowed the other as Jun shook his head and laughed, “Makes you look kind of punk.”

     “Yeah, well...how about you? You been alright?”

     “I'd say so,” he nodded, “Trying to get a more secure job cause I'm only freelance writing right now.”

     “Ah, I saw. My agent's company is actually planning to expand to Korea and they wanted to hire a translator. Turns out they were thinking about reaching out to you.”

     “Really?” Joshua raised a brow, “But I don't offer translating services. And besides, I don't speak Chinese.”

     “Oh, it's actually an American based company that branched out to the Chinese market. Sometimes they hire me for Chinese to English stuff and vice versa.”

     “I see,” he murmured, “Guess they changed their mind. I haven't received word.”

     “Oh, huh,” Jun seemed to muse to himself.

     “Want to grab a coffee?” Joshua pivoted before they could lapse into an awkward silence, “I know a café around here.”

     “Sure, let's go.”

     The café was not more than a five minute walk away from their meeting point. Its only customers at this time of day were writers furiously tapping away on their laptops and the odd artist who was people watching. The two found a quiet corner to sit down and catch up after ordering their beverages.

     “So your parents are okay with you modelling?” Joshua began.

     “Yeah, I think they warmed up to the idea. After I moved out and rented my own apartment, I think they started to feel better about my income.”

     “Oh, that's good. Better than you having to be stuck in a career you don't like.”

     “Definitely,” he agreed, “But I guess you didn't go into accounting either?”

     “Nah, it wasn't my dream. Then again, I still don't know exactly what my dream is,” he laughed a bit ruefully.

     Jun only made a monosyllabic sound in reply, turning to gaze at the busy street out the window.

     “Did your parents ever come to terms with you being gay?” Joshua suddenly asked, making Jun snap his attention back.

     “Sorry what?”

     “You heard what I said.”

     A flicker of a cloudy expression passed over Jun's face, but he quickly composed himself.

     “I never talked about it again with them after we broke up.”

     Joshua mulled over this thought for a moment.

     “But you're not stupid, and neither am I. Why did you want to meet me again, after all these years?”

     Jun's eyes drifted down to his coffee, where he stared at his reflection for a beat too long, “I really don't know. I just heard my agent mention something about hiring a guy named Joshua Hong as a translator and well, it reminded me of our college days. So I went online to see how you were and...then I sent you an email rather spontaneously,” he shrugged as his gaze met the other's again.

     At that Joshua had to snort, “Well that's far less romantic than I expected. I thought you wanted to meet up and rekindle old feelings or something.”

     Jun burst out laughing, “I don't know if it's weird, but I was thinking about that on the plane. I thought if you got offered the job...” he trailed off.

    “Yeah, what? If I got offered the job?”

    “Never mind, it'd be weird,” he waved his hand.

    “No, tell me,” Joshua smiled curiously.

     “Well, I don't know,” Jun mumbled, “I just thought it'd be cool if you were offered the job and moved to China with me. Because I saw you were still freelancing and all...”

     “Aww,” Joshua drawled, “So you do still have feelings for me! Jeez, you're so cheesy Junnie.”

     Jun rolled his eyes, but he grinned anyway, “Stop it, you're making an embarrassment of yourself.”

     After he stopped laughing, he spoke more solemnly, “I really like the idea of getting back together, but my whole family's here in America and I don't know any Chinese.”

     “Yeah, you're right,” Jun heaved a sigh, “It was just a fantasy anyway.”

     “But I mean,” Joshua continued, “For anything you have to make sacrifices and compromises. And I think that that's what we can do now that we're both older. We didn't work out before because we were both immature and too hard headed.”

     Jun furrowed a brow, “What are you implying?”

     “I mean that I'm willing to make compromises so we can have another go at it. At us,” he spoke earnestly.

     “But you're not planning to move to China?” he asked, confused.

     “No, I mean that you know Korean and I know Korean, and your agency is expanding to Korea...” a smile spread in his face, “Do you see where I'm going with this?”

     “Oh!” Jun's face lit up in understanding, “You want to move to Korea with me?”

     “Exactly! Would you consider that?”

    “Well...” Jun thought, “My Korean is kind of weak because I didn't continue my studies into university, but you're right. For anything we have to make compromises.”

     “I mean, it's all a bit too abrupt, isn't it? Just randomly show up at someone's doorstep years after seeing them...and to just up and move to a new country. I think it's a good idea, but we need to restart our relationship. Get to know each other all over again.”

     “Yeah,” Jun agreed, “I remember that we promised to meet again, once we had grown up a bit and sorted out our problems. I don't think we should rush it.”

     “And by the sounds of it, not all our problems are sorted yet,” Joshua said before hastily adding, “No offence. Just that you never talked about it with your parents.”

     “No I get you,” Jun sighed, “So are we going to try a long-distance relationship? Those things don't usually work out that well.”

     “Just for a bit,” he assured, “And maybe try to spend some vacation time together to see if we can still stand one another,” he winked.

     “God you never change,” Jun grinned.

     “C'mon, don't pretend you don't like it,” Joshua chuckled knowingly.

     Jun blushed, a random thought suddenly popping into his mind, “You know- actually never mind.”

     “Hm? What? Don't keep me in suspense!”

     “Well...to tell you the truth, I was the one who told me agent about you when she was talking to me about hiring a translator,” he lowered his eyes sheepishly.

     Joshua's eyes widened before he started laughing hysterically, “I knew it, you sneaky thing! I've never advertised myself anywhere as a translator!”

     “Hey, when life give you lemons...” Jun retorted.

     “You plant their seeds and grow lemon trees, that's what you do,” Joshua finished, making them both devolve into fits of laughter.

     “Oh god, I haven't laughed this much in ages,” Jun clutched his stomach, “It's good to see you're basically the same as when I left you.”

     “Same to you, save for the weird grape colour hair,” Joshua replied, suddenly dropping the smile, “But in all seriousness, you're not planning to keep it like that long term, are you?”

     “Does it bother you that much?” Jun wondered, fingering a strand, “Just earlier you said I pulled it off.”

     “I changed my mind,” Joshua said, making a face, “If we took a photo together the colour doesn't compliment my complexion.”

     “Ah, seriously, this one...”

     “I'm kidding! But not really,” he murmured.

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, hope ya liked it! I think there aren't that many JunShua fics, so I'll try to contribute to the ship when I can. Unfortunately I'm too busy to commit to a long fic right now, but I may add prequels or sequels to this story. For now it'll just be a one-shot.  
> Unbeta'd, so comment if ya see any typos (or comment if ya like it and want to let me know ^-^). All feedback is appreciated!


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